Hi
@ChellaI am going to reference this article in the AFR:
https://www.a f r.com/companies/financial-services/douglass-was-the-centre-of-everything-mercer-s-report-on-magellan-20220220-p59y1yBefore I do, Mercer and its consulting arms are globally recognised governance experts across Financial Services and Insurance industries (amongst other things). They are typically engaged by boards to provide independent advice to inform of impending decisions. I have mainly seen them in Australia replace top 4 consultants on projects (from one set of consultants to another) and from services provided to banks and insurance companies (I have not ever and do not work for Mercer or own shares in them).
Here are some points:
Willingness to stretch the truth to an Independent Consultant
Key man risk not adequately addressed at the time (yes Magellan’s hand has been forced which raises questions on the board - can they make decisions that are in the best interests of stakeholders?)
Governance issues - again resolved now however how was this allowed to continue? Did Cairns disagree with Douglass and get shown the door recently? Same with Nikki Thomas in 2017 and Mackay?
The issues above have contributed to shareholder destruction over the last year. The board should be as accountable as much as Douglass is and the above issues should not be allowed to happen again.
ASIC should review and receive assurances from Magellan board members that the organisation has changed and will prevent re-occurrence. Magellan is looking after 10’s of Billions of dollars of investor funds and should be stable.
Best of Luck
Lost
(20min delay)